9 found hanging from Mexican bridge

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"An organized crime group" is believed to be behind the killings, an official says

Residents of the Mexican border city of Nuevo Laredo found nine bodies hanging from an overpass Friday morning, along with a message directed to a drug cartel.

The five men and four women were hanging from one of the busiest intersections in the city.

"We are investigating. We think it is related to an organized crime group, but we cannot speculate," a military official told CNN. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

All of the bodies had signs of being beaten and tortured, the military official said. The bodies had their hands tied behind their backs and seven of them had blindfolds on.

The message said the victims belonged to a drug cartel and had been responsible for a car bomb that exploded outside the police station in last month.